How Free Home Matching Sites Make Money

The two common ways these sites get paid

Neither model adds anything to your price. Both are paid by the professionals, not by you. The difference is what the site is rewarded for.

• Commission sharing: the agent pays the site part of their commission after a deal closes. The site earns only if a sale or lease happens.
• Advertising: agents and local businesses pay a set fee for ad space and for hearing from people who ask for help. The fee is the same whether or not anyone buys, sells or rents.

How MoveMatched does it

Our How we make money page and our Advertising Disclosure explain every way the site earns.

• Agents, lenders, movers and other local businesses pay a flat monthly fee to advertise, by town or county.
• We never take a referral fee, a share of a commission, or any payment tied to a closing.
• Every ad is labeled as an ad. Ads are not recommendations.
• You pay nothing, and you are free to choose any agent or business, including ones that do not advertise with us.

Why we chose flat fees

State license laws in New Jersey and New York regulate who can be paid for real estate referrals, and those rules are written for licensed brokerages. MoveMatched is not a brokerage. A flat advertising fee keeps us out of the transaction: we are paid the same no matter what you decide, so we have no reason to push you toward a deal.

What an ad looks like on MoveMatched

If an ad ever looks like a recommendation to you, tell us through the contact page and we will fix it.

• Agent ads sit on town pages and are marked as paid ads.
• Lender ads show the lender's NMLS ID and the Equal Housing Lender note, and link to NMLS Consumer Access so you can check the license yourself.
• Mover, inspector and insurance ads say which town or county they cover.
• No ad changes what a page says about a town. Every town page uses the same wording, whoever advertises there.

Lenders and other settlement services

Federal law, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act or RESPA, limits payments for referring settlement services such as mortgages, title and some insurance. That is why lenders, title companies, inspectors and insurers can only buy flat fee ad space on MoveMatched. We are never paid per lead, per click to a loan, or per closed loan.

Questions to ask any agent you find online

• How many clients have you helped in this town or nearby recently?
• How will you send me options, and how quickly?
• What does your agreement say about commission, and how long does it last?
• Who else on your team will I work with?

Agent fees are negotiable

Commission is not set by law. It is agreed between you and the brokerage in writing. Read any agreement before you sign it, including how much the agent is paid, who pays it, and how long the agreement lasts. If something is unclear, ask the agent to explain it, or ask an attorney to read it.

Since 2024, many buyers sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes. Ask your agent to walk you through it line by line.